After telstra's last effort of billing me for something i haven't got. Yesterday I applied for adsl with another carrier but i could not complete the application because telstra has got their codes on the line the new carrier said that's easy enough just call telstra and ask them to remove their codes so we can set up your ADSL account. So i called TELSTRA and asked for the codes to be removed their response was we cant remove the codes because you arent with us . Forgive me if im wrong but they are telstra's codes and only telstra can remove them their response was no we cant. So it seems if you ever get ADSL with telstra you will never be able to get it anywhere else because they will not remove the codes from the system so you can change isp's. I think this is very ANTI- COMPETITIVE and so does the ACCC and the TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY OMBUDSMAN.

So to ALL aussies think about another isp besides telstra as they will only F@#K you over.

I have heard complaints about that company even here, in the UK -- yours is not the first -- mostly from online Aussie friends. You should take some kind of action, through legal channels, of course. Some people will not change unless you teach them a lesson.

For example, you can state your case at various places to bring the company bad publicity. As long as you are factual, it is not slander. Make sure the company knows what you are doing. In all likelihood, if they know they do not have a case against you, they will try to please you to get you to shut up.

In your correspondence to them, keep your prose factual and not personal. Refrain from comments like "You suck" (not that I am saying you say that) because it achieves no objective and only reflects on you. Make it look like you are keeping meticulous records in the event of a legal case.

Of course, there are usually fair business practice oversight commitees, although I am unsure about how the legal system is set up in Australia.

You could also try setting up a counter-website, like www.ihatetelstra.com.au, although you should be prepared for legal flak

Originally posted by Devils Advocate [B]I have heard complaints about that company even here, in the UK -- yours is not the first -- mostly from online Aussie friends. You should take some kind of action, through legal channels, of course. Some people will not change unless you teach them a lesson.

For example, you can state your case at various places to bring the company bad publicity. As long as you are factual, it is not slander. Make sure the company knows what you are doing. In all likelihood, if they know they do not have a case against you, they will try to please you to get you to shut up.

In your correspondence to them, keep your prose factual and not personal. Refrain from comments like "You suck" (not that I am saying you say that) because it achieves no objective and only reflects on you. Make it look like you are keeping meticulous records in the event of a legal case.

Of course, there are usually fair business practice oversight commitees, although I am unsure about how the legal system is set up in Australia.

You could also try setting up a counter-website, like www.ihatetelstra.com.au, although you should be prepared for legal flak [/B]

Great minds think alike you have basicly just said everything i was thinking and going to do oh and yes there will be an "i hate telstra" site coming soon

as far as the ombudsman is concerned the supply of ADSL is not regulated s othey cant really do anything. But the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) is NOT happy with this at all, Even the lady I spoke to there said it was wrong and they are going to look into it further because it's a blatant anti-competitive move from telstra.

The best bit is i called telstra again this afternoon and talked to the complaints department and they wouldn't even listen to me because i was not a telstra customer, I asked the person from telstra to remove the codes and his reply was "sir you are not a telstra customer i can not talk to you goodbye"

So they own 99% of all the lines and phonestations in the entire country? I recognize that, we have a former monopoly in the now deregulated telecommunicationsmarket, a company called TeliaSonera (owned by Swedish (46%) and Finnish (19%) goverment. They have been accused of excercising their old monopoly position by charging other ISP's using their lines overprices, but luckily we have a very strong "managment board" for the telecommunication market, a kind of ombudsman but they can force a company to lower rates/let competition in and other neat stuff. It's a govermental independent agency, so if the company does not comply they are put out of business.

I don't think you need to worry much longer, cos 1 of the follwoing is gonna happen.

1) The governemnt is trying it's best to sell off telstra.Hence Telstra will become a private company, which the ombudsman will then give a huge corporate wedgie.

2) There is currently a huge exodus away from telstra due to their anti-competetive practices, and high pricing. The only people that will stay with telstra are the people that have no other choice, ie rural areas.

Telstra will eventually realise that their anti-competetive practices and arrogance concerning their customers are driving people away. Whether they realise this before the company goes broke is an entirely different matter.

i know why the government wants to get rid of it so bad. It's because they know that what you were explaining is gonna happen.The best bit is i'm not a telstra customer so they have absolutely no right to be doing what they are doing.I am sticking to what i was told to do by the ACCC. Then if it still isn't fixed they are toast.